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Mountain Biking in the Peak

Climbing Trips

Written by Richard Apps

Friday, 20 October 2006

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Mountain Biking in the Peak
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This was a bit of a last minute trip. I bagged train tickets and candy chased down bike reservations. If the bikes couldn't go then we'd just be climbing. However we got lucky and the early train out of St Pancras had space for both bikes. Accommodation was a little trickier - Candy managed to track down B&B in the form of Ye Derwent Hotel in Bamford - an ideal base for our planned excursions.

Where are we?

We rocked up 20 minutes early for the train on Saturday morning not really knowing how / where or what to do with the bikes. One of the helpful Midland Mainline staff told us how it all worked and what to ask for and even what to expect on the different train types. Candy cat napped on the way up and I buried myself in a good book. When we arrived it was a pretty quick turn around - we simply jumped on the machines and rode out of Sheffield, out and up to Hathersage for the compulsory refreshments above outside. After this cheeky refuel we hit the road and again, arriving in Bamford a few minutes later. Julie - the mew manager of Ye Derwent Hotel showed us to our room where we were able to drop off the overnight bags and fill up on water. Then back to the bikes - several Kilos lighter and altogether more enthusiastic for getting the fat tyres muddy.

The first route of the weekend was the standard route around the Derwent reservoir. We had previously identified this as a light warm-up thinking that the early start and cycle from Sheff with the packs would have sapped the reserves a little.

Dewent Reservoir

The reservoir was an ideal start to the weekend. By going clockwise we were able to gradually get accustomed to the bikes in fat tyre mode before hitting the rough stuff. It was an excellent cycling day - not much wind but with just enough chill to prevent overheating. There were a lot of people out and about. Many cyclists - many walkers. It was just nice to be out. The riding was good without being too strenuous - we rode leisurely, taking pictures, running some film enjoying the view and saying our hellos. To see the videos click here . They are a about 10Meg each so you may need to wait a minute or so for them to start running.

End of first Day

At the end of the ride we had a bit of a quandary. There was still a few hours daylight left but we hadn't planned any optional extensions. As we rested it became clear that the Pub option was rapidly becoming the dominant choice and we coasted back down to Bamford pausing only for a few pictures by a walkway over one of the dams.

Dinner in the hotel was Carrot & Coriander soup followed by lasagne, washed down with a couple of cheeky pints. Superlative Carb packing in preparation for Sunday.

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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 19 December 2007 )

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